About
Cardiometabolic diseases are the leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. In number of deaths, they are followed by their complications, such as kidney disease, heart attack and stroke as well as neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. Together, they are responsible for the most deaths and the highest costs in the world in terms of treatments and hospitalisation. These conditions are caused by both genetics (inherited DNA) and environment (diet, activity, sleep).
In our research we aim to investigate (i) critical genes, regulatory regions and their interactions that influence risk of the disease; (ii) the complex interplay, between the genes and environment, that underpins both health, and risk of developing diseases; (iii) understand the causal mechanisms, biomarkers and progression of disease in order to develop new and improved treatments; and (iv) determine genetic risk of metabolic diseases.
We will use the genetic information and wide variety of disease and other phenotypes available in UK Biobank, such as biomarkers and imaging data.
Despite advances in prediction as well as changes in lifestyle and medication these diseases are still on the rise globally. Key challenges in the prevention and management are to: (i) understand better the complex molecular pathways and mechanisms leading to their development, progression, and complications; (ii) determine the causal relation of biomarkers and other putative risk factors, and (ii) find new therapeutic approaches to reduce deaths due to those disorders.
Our proposal will (i) improve understanding of the genetic mechanisms of cardiometabolic and neurological diseases and their comorbidities; (ii) provide a better understanding of how genetics interact with environmental factors in development and progression of these conditions; (iii) and potentially lead to improving their prediction, prevention and treatment.
14 Publications
| Pub ID | Title | Author(s) | Year | Journal |
| 16234 | Association Between Diabetes and Anemia: Evidence From NHANES and the UK Biobank. | Danyang Wang (+4) | 2025 | Diabetes Care |
| 16881 | Comparison of DXA, BIA, and anthropometry for assessing subcutaneous, visceral, liver, and pancreas fat measured by MRI | Danyang Wang (+4) | 2026 | Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism |
| 16545 | Comparison of subcutaneous, visceral, liver and muscle fat depots in relation to prevalent and incident diabetes | Danyang Wang (+3) | 2025 | Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism |
| 11955 | Evaluating the incidence of complications among people with diabetes according to age of onset: Findings from the UK Biobank | Seyedeh Forough Sajjadi (+5) | 2024 | Diabetic Medicine |
| 14961 | Integration of apolipoprotein B into the SCORE2 framework: implications for cardiovascular risk prediction | Wen Kai Wong (+5) | 2025 | European Journal of Preventive Cardiology |
| 13575 | Left ventricular size and heart failure: A cardiac MRI assessment of 38,129 individuals from the UK Biobank | Stephanie J Rowe (+4) | 2024 | International Journal of Cardiology |
| 11589 | New-onset atrial fibrillation prediction: the HARMS2-AF risk score | Louise Segan (+14) | 2023 | European Heart Journal |
| 8387 | Poor sleep and shift work associate with increased blood pressure and inflammation in UK Biobank participants | Monica Kanki (+7) | 2023 | Nature Communications |
| 15715 | Risk of ischemic stroke in sinus node dysfunction with and without atrial fibrillation: Evidence for the presence of a left atrial myopathy in patients with isolated sinus node dysfunction - an analysis of the UK Biobank | Sohaib A Virk (+5) | 2025 | Heart Rhythm |
| 16028 | Surveillance of left ventricular function among cancer survivors | Cheng Hwee Soh (+1) | 2025 | Heart |
| 11996 | Ten-Year Risk Equations for Incident Heart Failure in Established Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Populations | Luke P. Dawson (+8) | 2024 | Journal of the American Heart Association |
| 10482 | The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank | David Chieng (+11) | 2022 | European Journal of Preventive Cardiology |
| 15045 | The presence or absence of standard modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in patients with myocardial infarction impacts long-term but not 30-day mortality: a UK Biobank prospective cohort study | Wen Kai Wong (+5) | 2025 | European Journal of Preventive Cardiology |
| 15206 | Visceral adipose tissue demonstrates a stronger association with venous thromboembolism than body mass index | Ruidong Xiang (+6) | 2025 | Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis |